Tui Bei Tu is an important Chinese cultural classic. However, the study on translation of this book has long eclipsed from scholars’ attention. After discovering an anonymous translated version of Tui Bei Tu,this article proves that it is Timothy Richard who translated this book, and its original version is Donghaiben (a Pseudo-Ming edition with a preface written by Wild Man from Eastern Sea)through detailed investigation. As the earliest translation of Tui Bei Tu with unique vision in original version selection, Richard’s version was published 17 years earlier than the original, and thus a unique phenomenon - translation born earlier than original - appears in the history of Chinese classics translation.